LOS ANGELES – So there was the obvious. Free throws were the central issue in the Nuggets’ Game 1 loss. But there was also the 22-10 disparity in the Lakers’ favor in second chance points; the 17-7 Lakers’ edge in offensive rebounds; and the fact that Los Angeles held the Nuggets to seven fast break points, had more rebounds (46-37), had more assists (25-24), shot better from the 3-point line (44 percent to 42) and blocked more shots (9-8).

They out-detailed the Nuggets in nearly every way. But here’s the detail I thought was most poignant:

LAMAR ODOM ON ANTHONY CARTER

Carter’s throw away to L.A.’s Trevor Ariza late in the fourth quarter was the signature moment of the game. But quite frankly it’s difficult for me to lay the lion’s share of the blame at Carter’s feet. Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s use of the 6-10 Odom to guard the 6-2 Carter’s inbounds pass was a small detail that proved to be genius.

Carter struggled with Odom’s length. He had to lob a softball pass up to get the ball over Odom’s long arms and Ariza made a great break on the ball for the steal. At this point in the season, when there isn’t much difference between the teams it’s the little things that generally make the biggest difference. A taller Nugget inbounding the ball has an easier time getting more juice on the pass, making that play’s success rate higher. That’s a change Nuggets coach George Karl will likely make in the future, but he was out-dueled this time. Score one for Jackson.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

If you’re looking for signs of encouragement, the Nuggets provided a lot in a game that was decided at the wire. Anthony scored at will. The Nuggets executed well for the better part of the game. Kenyon Martin was active all over the court. They got to the rim all night en route to 46 points in the paint (Lakers had 40), and they were able to build a 13-point lead on the Lakers’ home court.

But.

Here’s where I get a little apprehensive about how just good the Nuggets chances to win the series really are. Of the two teams, I’d say the Nuggets played B+ basketball for the better part of the night. I’d say the Lakers played C- basketball until Kobe bailed them out in the end.

My point is, I think the Lakers have more room to improve from Game 1 to Game 2 – and they won. If Denver’s finish kept it from playing ‘A’ basketball, then there’s not much more to be seen from the Nuggets. Free throw shooting can obviously improve. But is Anthony really going to shoot 70 percent from the field overall and 80 percent from 3-point range in every game? No. The Lakers played listless basketball for the better part of the game and still found a way to win. They shot 41 percent from the field and still won. Just three players cracked 10 points, and they still won.

What happens if both get to their ‘A’ games? That’s a longer journey for the Lakers, which means we probably have only seen them scratch the surface. That’s a scary thought as the series moves forward.

CHAUNCEY’S REGRET

Of all of the lessons Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has taught this season, after the game he lamented about the one he didn’t teach to young J.R. Smith, who is playing in his first NBA conference finals series. It’s interesting stuff.

With 3.2 seconds left, Smith was fouled before getting up a 3-point shot or passing to someone who could. He made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally to try and get the Nuggets a crack at making a game-tying shot. Instead, Bryant came away with the rebound on the intentional miss, he threw the ball high in the air down court and the game was over.

“It’s a tough play because we don’t have any timeouts,” Billups said. “And I know what they’re thinking…let somebody get (the ball) other than me. And don’t let them get a 3-point shot off. Foul them, put them on the free throw line. So in that position I wish I would have – I wish I could have got the ball.

“They did a good job. I couldn’t get it. But I wish I could have told J.R. that they were going to foul and when you see him come to foul, shoot the ball. Just little things that you learn through experience and through a lot of tough battles that he hasn’t been in yet.

“So that’s why I was disappointed that I – not that I didn’t get the ball, that I didn’t relay that knowledge to him, that savvy to him, where when (he sees) them coming to foul him, to try to go up and shoot the ball and get three shots. Just little things like that.”

NEW ORLEANS — The first positive sign: No one gave an on-court interview after Monday’s game in New Orleans Arena about how great it is to be in the second round. Sorry T-Mac.

But the Nuggets are 48 minutes away.

I asked Kenyon Martin when the last time he played in a closeout game was. He scratched his head.

“Ummm…” he said. “This is my fifth year here? It’s been a long time. Been a looong time.”

For Martin, that answer is April 25, 2004; just over five calendar years ago. Then, his New Jersey Nets finished a sweep of the New York Knicks. He has not one a playoff series since.

For Carmelo Anthony, if the Nuggets win Wednesday night, it will be his first series win. Ever. You can almost cut the excitement in the air with a knife when he talks about it. A win stops the can’t-get-out-of-the-first-round criticism, which in his view has arguably been the most biting of all the things his detractors have said about him.

Forty-eight minutes.

“Yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited man,” Anthony said. “I don’t want to get too excited. Good thing is we stole one here on the road and get a chance to go home in front of our crowd and close it out.”

The Hornets, down 3-1, appear to be done. They didn’t even practice on Tuesday, instead opting to convene, board the plane and come to Denver for Game 5. They are battered in body and spirit. Anthony knows the feeling.

“I’ve been in this situation before, down 3-1, especially going into someone else’s home court,” he said. “But the tables are turned now. I get a chance to go home and close it out. As a team we’re excited about that opportunity.”

The fact is, as much credit as Chauncey Billups deserves for teaching the Nuggets how to win in the playoffs, Anthony must be praised for a series in which his play grew stronger every game.

Game 1: 13 points (4-of-12 shooting), seven rebounds, two assists.

Game 2: 22 points (10-of-20), three rebounds, nine assists.

Game 3: 25 points (10-of-24), eight rebounds, five assists.

Game 4: 26 points (9-of-17), six rebounds, seven assists.

He has played to the standard everyone expected and beyond. His series as a playmaker has been remarkable. He’s averaged 5.75 assists and has made near flawless decisions with the basketball in combating what the defense has shown him, particularly in double-teams. His game is maturing. His team is winning.

And largely because of him, it’s close-out time. The Nuggets haven’t had a closeout game since the franchise defeated its current coach – George Karl – in Game 5 of the 1994 first round series against the heavily-favored Seattle Sonics.

And though the Hornets have been blitzed in three of the four games, losing by an average of 34 points per game, no one expects getting the fourth win to be anything but hard work.

“We’re not going to get big-headed about it,” Martin said. “I’m expecting we’ll come out and play hard.”

“It’s going to be tough to closeout that game,” guard Anthony Carter said. “But we’re at home and the fans are looking forward to it, and we’re going to need each and every one of them out there on Wednesday. They haven’t seen the Nuggets make it to the second round in 20 years or 25 years or however long it’s been. It’ll just be something special for us to close it out on our home court and give something back to the fans that they haven’t seen in a while – but we just gotta make sure we do it.”

Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com

Here’s a really cool look at how playoff teams who lost by the biggest margins in NBA history fared in their next game. This was compiled by the Post’s NBA editor, Dave Krause.

Minneapolis 133, vs. St. Louis 75, 1956

Next game: St. Louis won 116-115 at Minneapolis to win the best-of-three series in the 1956 Western Conference semifinals.

L.A. Lakers, 126 at Golden State, 70, 1973

Next game: Golden State won 117-109 at home against the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Milwaukee 136, vs. San Francisco 86, 1971

Next game: San Francisco lost the last game of the Western Conference semifinals; franchise changed its name to the Golden State Warriors the following season and won the 1971-72 opener at Boston, 97-75.

But never, ever, have the Nuggets been mistaken for the team you’d better sharpen your elbows to face.

But wait. Now, it is.

My, how things change.

I’ve covered the opposition’s angle this series, and the questions to Hornets players are amazing. They are constantly peppered with queries about their intestinal fortitude. It took exactly one game for coach Byron Scott to call Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones’s defensive tactics “dirty.” Jones has been in the Hornets’ heads ever since.

Some talk of tempered retaliation.

“We have to adjust to the game,” Hornets forward James Posey said. “You have to pick your spots to be physical. You don’t want to do anything too crazy out there. You don’t want to foul for the sake of fouling. But you still have to hold your ground and play basketball.”

Some say the Nuggets aren’t different at all.

“They are a big, strong team. They’ve played like that all year,” Hornets forward David West said. “They haven’t necessarily changed anything in that regard. It’s just the way that they are conditioned to play.”

Kenyon Martin lays down the hard fouls. Chris Andersen rolls through the paint like a bowling ball to rebound and block shots. Chauncey Billups gives extra emphasis when clearing out his path to the rim. Carmelo Anthony battles on the block. The only player seemingly not down with the program is the happy-go-lucky, always smiling, Nene. And even he’s a physical presence when he takes the ball to the rim.

Coach George Karl has said a nasty team is a team crafted in his image. Well, these guys might as well all be wearing Karl Halloween masks. Trust me when I tell you, he’s laughing behind the scenes and telling his guys to keep it up.

But just two years ago, Karl was Scott. Bowen was Jones. Ginobili was Martin, minus the flops. The Spurs knocked the Nuggets around like pinballs, they chuckled through it all, and all the Nuggets could do was complain about it.

But no more.

It’s part of the reason why this year’s Nuggets team is so unusual. But it’s been unusual good, for them. Records have been broken, expectations have been altered, and some imaginations can see the Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

But before anyone gets ahead of themselves on that front, they should sit back and enjoy this show. The Nuggets are playing playoff caliber basketball. Extra bumping, extra grinding and emphatically laying the smack down are all part of it. Bring your elbows or go home.

How long this lasts, I don’t know.

But the Nuggets, as Monsters of the Mile High City, sure are fun to watch while it does.

Big game tonight.
Dallas, a preseason title contender, is now contending with Denver and Golden State for the final two playoff spots in the West. Of course, reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki won’t play against Dener tonight at Pepsi Center – the guy is out indefinitely with a leg injury.
This got me thinking – when was the last time a team missed the playoffs one year removed from having the MVP? I tossed that question to the Dan Tolzman, the Nuggets’ rock star stat guy, who said it has happened just four times since the NBA began awarding the MVP in 1956. And only twice was the reigning MVP still on the roster.
1. Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won MVP in 1973-74. The next season, he started the season with a broken hand and missed 16 games. The Bucks went 3-13 (if as to validate the MVP’s value). Milwaukee missed the playoffs and next season, Kareem was on the Lakers and, yep, he won the MVP.
2. Houston’s Moses Malone was named MVP in 1981-82 and the Rockets were 46-36. The next season, he was on Philadelphia, and we won the dang MVP again. Meanwhile, the Rockets missed the playoffs, winning just 14 games.
3. You probably guessed this one. In 1997-98, Michael Jordan won the MVP and never played for Chicago again. The next season, the Bulls just weren’t the same without the greatest athlete ever.
4. Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett won MVP in 2003-04 (Minnesota’s one really good year). Then in 2004-05, the Timberwolves missed the postseason, even though Garnett averaged 22.2 points and 13.5 rebounds, without missing a game.

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 96-89 tonight in Game 4 of their playoff series at Pepsi Center in Denver.

After three quarters, the Nuggets led 73-67. The Nuggets took a 50-42 advantage into halftime. Denver’s Marcus Camby had eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in the first half. The Nuggets led 27-20 after the first quarter. Camby collected nine rebounds during the first quarter.Read more…

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.